House Sparrow

The ubiquitous House Sparrow, Passer domesticus, is sometimes described as the most common bird in the world. Sub-species and various races of the House Sparrow are found on every continent except Antarctica. Introduced to Melbourne in 1863 by the very misguided Victorian Acclimatization Society, the species is now found in all states of Australia except WA where it is a declared pest.

The House Sparrow has a long association with human habitation and now is almost always found closely connected to human activity rather than in the wild. Because of its familiarity, the House Sparrow is often said to represent vulgarity, lewdness and even lust.

Often referred to as a vector for disease, the bird can indeed carry a myriad of pathogens that might cause communicable diseases. It is generally believed though, that transference to humans is an extremely low possibility. The House Sparrow is responsible for driving out native birds and for being a nuisance by preferring to construct untidy nests in crevices in our buildings. In some places they are considered an agricultural pest. It can be argued though that the House Sparrow cleans up our food scraps that might attract other pests – rodents – and that their diet includes many species of annoying insects.

Some recent Australian research shows, like ‘the canary in the coal mine’, that blood-lead levels in House Sparrows were an indicator of blood-lead levels in children. The study was conducted in Broken Hill in New South Wales and Mount Isa in Queensland, where blood-lead levels in children is a major concern.

The results were remarkably accurate with blood-lead levels in the birds correlating almost exactly with the blood-levels in the children. The research highlights that there often is a close connection between human and animals, particularly in our urban environments.

Here’s an amusing description of the great sparrow war of Shanghai in 1958 – the sparrows won!